Covering topics on religion, philosophy and life, this blog attempts to make biblical truths simple for the average believer. As porridge is soft to aid digestion, so the blog contents are easily understood.
However, there is also meaty stuff for those who aspire to go deeper. The relevance of the Bible in our daily life (areas such as finances, sex, marriage, health and emotional healing) is also dealt with.

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Tuesday, 30 April 2013

To say that God is a consuming fire is most unpalatable. It pricks our ears. To many that image of God is more like the God of the Old Testament:

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).

But the book of Hebrews is in the New Testament; so it must be relevant to believers.

The apostle Peter reaffirms the truth that believers will be judged: “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

The trouble with many believers is that we prefer a God who is soft, loving and benevolent. Instinctively, we gravitate towards ministers who make God look like an indulgent celestial Santa Claus.

The respected theologian A. W. Tozer says: "Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist on trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.”

Our attempts at giving God a makeover is tantamount to idolatry – entertaining thoughts of what God is NOT in our minds.

Love and mercy are important attributes of God. But He is also a God of justice and righteousness. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you” (Psalm 89:14).

He is the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah as well. He who once rode on a colt as a man is now ensconced on His heavenly throne as the King of Kings.

Presumptuous faith and failure to discern and do His will may have disastrous consequences for many:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Thinking erroneously that He is always meek and mild may prove disastrous when we’re confronted by God the judge at the end of our life journey or when Christ returns.

But it’s not only a harsh image of God which is difficult to swallow. Terms like self-denial, repentance and cost of discipleship are increasingly being watered down – to the extent they have little relevance for many believers. In an attempt to be more “seeker sensitive”, some leaders prefer to emphasise areas that are “safe” and agreeable such as blessings, comfort and success.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Is a worldview that ‘God
isgood’ adequate in helping Christians
understand everything that happens in their journey of faith? Let’s learn from Habakkuk about
a faithfulGod. Let’s learn from Moses how to
move only when God’spresence goes with us.

How
should believers view their relationship with God? Is it true they just
need to embrace the belief that God is good and that He will always bless
them?

There
is nothing wrong in believing that God is good and desires to bless His
children. “True humility and
fear of the LORD lead to riches, honour, and long life” (Proverbs 22:4). “For I
know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
In general, God desires to bless believers with material abundance, honour,
longevity and a bright future.

However, there will be seasons when believers
fail to see such blessings in their lives. When they are undergoing trials and
tribulations, the premise that ‘God is good’ seems like an empty creed — merely confessed
and sung by them on Sundays. What are the other attributes or qualities
of God they should cling on to?

They need to trust in a God who
is faithful, like Habakkuk. Though the crops failed and the flocks vanished,
yet he was not jittery. By faith, he rejoiced in a faithful God who will once again
make him secure and sure-footed like a mountain goat (Habakkuk 3:17-19). God
may not be good according to human expectations but He is faithful. In His own
time, He will prove that He is faithful.

God's answer to Habakkuk:

“Write the vision;make it plain on tablets,so he may run who reads it.For still the vision awaits its appointed time;it hastens to the end—it will not lie.If it seems slow, wait for it;it will surely come; it will not delay.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,but the righteous shall live by his faith.

(Habakkuk 2:2-4).

Moses cherished God’s
presence with him in all his endeavours more thanblessings. If
God’s presence did not go with him, he would not think of possessing the
Promised Land — a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus
33:15).

Moses once grappled with this issue: Should
he go ahead to enter the Promised Land without God’s presence or should he
venture out only when he sensed God’s presence? Being spiritually sensitive, he
chose the latter. Because his attitude was correct, he was rewarded. The glory
of God passed by and he was able to see God’s back (Exodus 33:13-23).

But the Israelites were not spiritually sensitive,
unlike Moses. At first, they did not believe in the positive report given by
Caleb and Joshua — that they were well able to possess the Promised Land. Thus
they fell under God’s judgment and had to wander in the wilderness for forty
years.

Later, in a turnaround from faithlessness and cowardice, they suddenly became gung ho. Presuming they were capable of
conquering the Promised Land, they launched the attack without God’s
presence — in the form of the ark of the covenant — and without Moses.
They could not resist the blessings of the Promised Land, which beckoned
to them to possess it. But they were defeated because God’s presence was not
with them (Numbers 14: 20-45).

To recap:

We are merely taking baby steps in our faith
walk when we believe in a good God who blesses us.

Spiritual maturity involves trusting not only
in good God but a God who is faithful in spite of adverse
circumstances. When trials assail us, we should rejoice by faith in His
faithfulness, just like Habakkuk.

We should also seek to know God’s ways, like
Moses. If God’s presence does not go with us, we should not venture
out despite attractive blessings beckoning to us to go ahead. It is important
to seek God’s presence rather than presume that — since He is a good God — the
path of blessings must be right for us.

Finally, is the path of God’s choice invariably lined with blessings?

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

“Lot looked around and saw that the whole
plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD,
like the land of Egypt. This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah”
(Genesis 13:10). Lot, the nephew of Abraham, chose the best land using his
natural judgment. He did not realise that the place would later be destroyed by
God for its repugnant sins like sodomy. The path marked by blessings might not
be God’s choice.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do
not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

FOOTNOTES:

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the
vines,

the produce of the
olive fail and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off
from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in
the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my
strength; he makes my feet like the deer's;

He makes me tread on
my high places.

(Habakkuk 3:17-19).

Then Moses said to God, “If you don’t go with us, then don’t
make us leave this place.”

(Exodus 33:15).

RELATED
POSTS:

FAITH, FEELINGS, CIRCUMSTANCES

The greater our faith, the more we are freed
from the tyranny of our feelings and external circumstances.

Thursday, 25 April 2013

Being so focused and
determined that we have one objective in mind. Once Jesus and Paul knew for
certain what God wanted them to do, nothing on earth could make them change
their minds. They set their faces like flint towards Jerusalem.

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to
heaven,Jesus resolutely set out
for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). He
was clear in His mind concerning His mission in life. He was born to die for
the sins of humanity. Deep down He knew what He had to do and where He had to
head towards.

This was a fulfillment of Isaiah 50:7: “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I
will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my
face like flint”. Flint is a very hard stone. Jesus set His face
like flint to go to Jerusalem with unflinching purpose
and steely
determination, undaunted by any opposition or suffering that lay
ahead. As Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem, His feet followed the
direction of His gaze.

Similarly,
the apostle Paul resolved to go to Jerusalem despite conflicting advice from well-meaning
believers: “And
now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrainedbythe Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me
there,except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city
thatimprisonment andafflictions await me.ButI do not account my life
of any value nor as precious to myself, if onlyI may finish my course andthe ministrythat I received from the
Lord Jesus,to testify to the gospel ofthe grace of God (Acts
20:22-24).

Not even a
stern warning could stop him from fulfilling his mission. The prophet Agabus, took Paul's belt and bound
his own feet and hands and said,“Thus
says the Holy Spirit,‘This is
how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt anddeliver him into the hands of the
Gentiles’’’ (Acts 21:11).

No
matter what, Paul was absolutely determined to go to Jerusalem because he lived
by this motto – obedience to the heavenly vision God had given him.

“Therefore,
O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient tothe
heavenly vision,but declared firstto those
in Damascus,then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and
alsoto the Gentiles, that they shouldrepent
andturn to God, performing deedsin
keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:19-20).

Many
things can cause us to deviate from the path God has set for us: Our own incessant
inner chatter, well-meaning counsel from others, trials and tribulations, worldly
cares and concerns. This may sound strange but sometimes what derails God’s plan for us is
success – to be exact, pride and complacency which come with success. This
happens when success gets to our head.

Once
Jesus and Paul knew for certain what God wanted them to do, nothing on earth
could make them change their minds. They set their faces like flint towards
Jerusalem.

Are we clear in our minds God’s vision for our lives?

If so, are we advancing – slowly but surely – towards the intended
goal?

Are we focused on finishing the course?

“Let your eyeslook
straight ahead;fix your gaze directly before you.Give careful thought to thepaths for your feetand be steadfast in all your ways.Do not turn to the right or the
left;keep your foot from evil” (Proverbs
4:25-27).

“Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there.” – Josh Billings, American humorist.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and
endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success
unexpected in common hours.” –
Henry David
Thoreau.

And what is success from a biblical viewpoint? There are many diverse views as to what constitutes success but, to me, it is simply the progressive realisation of God-inspired goals.
It is not necessarily the notion of success of the world – fame, power, money
and comfort.

Monday, 22 April 2013

Singles and
married couples alike will learn valuable lessons as they witness the
reconciliation of two broken people in the movie, "FIREPROOF". God
can heal a broken relationship—even if it seems irreconcilable—if we follow His
ways.

REVIEW OF THE MOVIE “FIREPROOF”

(Warning: this review
has spoilers)

Review by Sharon Lim

Forget the Hollywood
fairy tale where boy meets girl and they fall in love, marry and live happily
ever after.

This movie is set in
the middle of the Holts’ seventh year of marriage, long after the initial
sparks of romance have fizzled out. Enter Caleb Holt, a fireman who is
emotionally distant, does little around the home and has been addicted to
pornography. His addiction and indifference take a toll on his wife, Catherine,
who becomes disillusioned with their marriage. She starts getting attracted to
a young doctor, Gavin Keller, whom she meets at work.

The tension between
husband and wife escalates gradually, with constant shouting and snapping at
each other. This worsens when Caleb insists on saving up a huge sum of money to
buy a fishing boat, despite the fact that Catherine’s stroke-ridden mother
needs expensive hospital equipment. During a particularly bad argument, Catherine
throws in the towel. She wants a divorce and removes her wedding ring.

As Caleb relates the
situation of his failed marriage to his parents, his father tells him to hold
off the divorce for forty days. He urges Caleb to take up the “Love Dare”, which is a 40-day
challenge to save his marriage.

At first, Caleb takes
up the challenge rather reluctantly, doing daily acts of love like buying
flowers and making a cup of coffee for his wife. His heart is not in it and he
is merely doing it to please his father. By the time day 20 arrives, Catherine
and Gavin have fallen in love, as she is made to believe that he has paid for her
mother’s hospital equipment. Catherine is intent on divorcing Caleb.

At this point, Caleb
is frustrated and the situation seems hopeless. However, his dad encourages him
to give God a try. At his wit’s end, Caleb invites God into his life. He gets
genuinely serious about changing himself, even to the point of smashing his
computer (which he uses to feed his sexual addiction) with a baseball bat.

Catherine sees
Caleb’s change of attitude but remains unconvinced. Days later, she finds out
that it was actually Caleb who paid for her mother’s hospital equipment. Genuinely
convinced of Caleb’s sincerity, she then puts on her wedding ring again.

The movie ends with
both of them embracing in the fire station.

It is interesting to
note that the crew of this film is made up of committed Christians. A
collaboration between Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sherwood Pictures, the
production relied heavily on church volunteers, with Kirk Cameron (Caleb) being
the only professional actor.

Driven by Cameron’s
belief that a man should not kiss a woman other than his wife, the producers
got his real wife, Chelsea Noble, to replace Erin Bethea, his on-screen wife,
for the scene where we see their silhouettes embracing and kissing
passionately.

Recipient of the Best
Feature Film Award at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, Fireproof
opened in theatres on September 26, 2008, and was reported by the Wall
Street Journal to be the highest grossing independent film in 2008 in the
United States.

This movie is no Slumdog Millionaire, but its emphasis on
the sanctity of marriage rings clear throughout. A must watch for married and
courting couples who are seeking to overcome the “perturbations of love”, in
the words of author C.S. Lewis.

Singles and married
couples alike will learn valuable lessons as they witness the reconciliation of
two broken people. God can heal a broken relationship—even if it seems irreconcilable—if
we follow His ways.

True love isn’t
seeking what’s best for you but what’s best for your partner. To make a success
of marriage, you must first understand how to love someone and that comes from knowing
God who loves us unconditionally.

The tagline in this movie “FIREPROOF”
is Never Leave Your
Partner Behind. For fireman Caleb, this means he should not leave his colleague
behind while they are fighting a blaze. It can also mean he should not to leave
his life partner but be tenacious in working through marital conflict.

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Believers have been given the ability to discern and judge. We should recognise the fact that we have the Holy Spirit in us and the mind of Christ.

“Thespiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? Butwe have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:15-16).

To think otherwise is to shortchange ourselves. In fact, Paul teaches that in future we will be judging the world and angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3). What an awesome responsibility lies ahead of us. So we’d better get cracking – while we are still on earth we should exercise our God-given ability to judge.

But lest we get swollen-headed, we need to acknowledge the fact that our judgment is, at best, imperfect. We all have blind spots. We must not think we have the last word on judgment.

While we have been empowered with the ability to judge, we need to acknowledge that our judgment is not infallible:

“Thereforedo not pronounce judgment before the time,before the Lord comes,who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Only the Judge of judges will be able to deliver the ultimate verdict regarding a person’s character or so-called good works. Hidden motives behind a person’s actions will then be exposed.

For we will all have to stand before Him one day and give an account as to how we have lived our lives:

“Forwe must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Will our works be able to stand the test of fire?

“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw —each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, andthe fire will test what sort of work each one has done.If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives,he will receive a reward.If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved,but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

Who knows, He might even “spew us out from His mouth”, like the judgment He pronounced over the church at Laodicea?

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.Would that you were either cold or hot!So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

Let us not be deceived us by those who say that Christians will not have to face judgment:

“For it is time for judgmentto begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those whodo not obey the gospel of God?And if the righteous is scarcely saved,what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Peter 4:17-18).

Saturday, 20 April 2013

Easter celebration
focuses on the resurrection of Christ. But can this claim that Christ rose from
the dead be verified?

Tis’
the time again when Easter eggs add cheer to the holiday season. But amid this
commercialism, let us not lose sight of Easter’s real meaning.

What
has the humble egg got to do with Easter? At a glance, its well-decorated shell
reminds us it’s about celebration. On further reflection, an egg bears within it
the potential for a new life — a new beginning — though it may appear lifeless
for a season.

When
an egg hatches, a tiny chick gradually pushes its way through the shell. Just
as the shell could not restrain the chick from emerging at the appropriate time,
death could not keep Jesus within the tomb for more than three days. Defying
death, He proved that He is divine — not just a great teacher or a founder of a
major religion.

And
that brings us to the reason for the season: Easter is the time when believers
commemorate Christ’s resurrection, three days after His death by crucifixion at
the cross.

From gloom to hope

The
disciples fled in fear when their Master died. It seemed He had left this earth
in shame and ignominy, like a common criminal. Moreover, it was pathetic His
body had to be laid in a borrowed tomb. All seemed bleak and gloomy.

The
turning point came when the huge boulder guarding the entrance to the tomb
miraculously rolled away and Jesus rose again from the dead! A group of ladies
who went to the tomb at dawn to anoint His body was taken aback by the angel’s
declaration, “He is not here; he has risen!”

Death, where is thy
sting?

The
resurrection of Jesus is the epitome of hope. There is life after death for
believers — everlasting life in heaven. Just as Jesus’ death is not final,
physical death is not final for those who believe in Him.

Jesus
said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will
live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). Can we think of any other promise that
offers greater hope to a man when he passes through the valley of death?

Victory over sin

For
believers, Christ’s resurrection gives them the power to live a victorious
life. Sin’s power over them has been broken.

How
is this achieved? First, believers identify with the death of Christ by dying
to sin, which is symbolised by the act of baptism. And just as Christ was
raised from the dead, even so believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to
walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-11, Galatians 5:16). Set free from bondage
to the inclinations of their sinful nature, they are able to resist Satan and
no longer incur God’s wrath (Ephesians 2: 2-3).

Satan defeated

The
resurrection of Christ also spelt the defeat of Satan. By defying death, Christ
“disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities” and “shamed them publicly” by His
victory over them at the cross (Colossians 2:15).

Believers, now seated in the
heavenly places next to Christ, rest in this exalted position of victory over the
principalities and powers (Ephesians 2:6). The battle has already been won.
Their task is to believe and enforce the victory that Christ has achieved for
them at the cross (Ephesians 6:10-11).

Fact or fable?

By
dying for the sins of man, Jesus demonstrated love beyond human comprehension. And by defying death, He proved
what only divine power could possibly
achieve.

Love
tends to be soft and wimpy whereas power tends to be harsh and unforgiving.
Only in God do we find these contrasting characteristics — love and power — fused
together in perfect harmony.

But
one may ask, “Is the resurrection of Christ a fact or fable?”

Everything
about the Christian faith hinges on one thing: “Did Christ rise from the dead?”
If Christ were not raised, then the faith of believers is futile as they are
still guilty of their sins. And Christians are among those most to be pitied
for clinging on to a false hope (1 Corinthians 15:17,19).

Atheist-turned-believer
Lee Strobel shared about his journey of faith: “I used to consider the
resurrection to be a laughable fairy tale. After all, Yale Law School had
trained me to be coldly rational, and my years of sniffing for news at the
Chicago Tribune had only toughened my naturally cynical personality. But
intrigued by changes in my wife after she became a Christian, I spent nearly
two years systematically using my journalistic and legal experience to study
the evidence for the resurrection and the credibility of Jesus' claims to being
God. I emerged totally convinced and gave my life to Christ …” (Lee Strobel in
“God’s Outrageous Claims”, page 170).

Even
sceptics, including highly skilled lawyers, have accepted Christ. According to
the Guinness Book of World Records, Sir Lionel Luckhoo, is the winningest
lawyer in the world with 245 straight murder acquittals. With superior
investigative skills, he did research on the authenticity of the resurrection
and concluded: “I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of
Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which
leaves absolutely no room for doubt” (Lee Strobel in “God’s Outrageous Claims”,
page 171).

First-hand experience

Beyond
objective evidence, many Christians can testify to the reality of Christ’s
resurrection power — His guidance, provision and healing. Indeed, the proof of
the pudding is in the eating.

The
apostle Paul counted everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). Christ meant so much to him that he was
willing to endure hunger, persecution and imprisonment for His sake.

Why
would anyone sacrifice so much for his faith if it were not true? Consider
Paul’s suffering: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but
not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that
the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Well-known
apologist, Josh McDowell,*wrote: “But the most telling testimony
of all must be the lives of those early Christians. We must ask ourselves: What
caused them to go everywhere telling the message of the risen Christ? Had there
been any visible benefits accrued to them from their efforts — prestige,
wealth, increased social status or material benefits — we might logically
attempt to account for their actions, for their whole-hearted and total
allegiance to this ‘risen Christ’. As a reward for their efforts, however,
those early Christians were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions,
tortured and crucified. Every conceivable method was used to stop them from
talking. Yet, they laid down their lives as the ultimate proof of their
complete confidence in the truth of their message.”

Verifiable today

Today,
the reality of the risen Christ can be verified by anyone who is open to His
claims and willing to receive Him:

Are we open to Jesus’ claim — “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me” (John 14:6)?

Are we willing to receive Him? “To all who did receive Him, to those who believed
in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

When
we place our trust in Christ, we don’t have to commit intellectual suicide; it
is not blind faith. And we can experience for ourselves — first-hand, not
second-hand through the testimonies of other believers — the reality of the
power of the risen Christ!